Table of Contents
Executive Summary
-
- The market
- Market growth slows amid some uncertainty
-
- Figure 1: Consumer spending on living and dining room furniture, 2014-24
- Brexit headwinds set to subdue growth
- Housing transactions cool for a second year
- Consumer confidence remains resilient despite uncertainty
- Companies and brands
- Specialist stores lead sales, two retailers fall into administration…
- …but online channels continue to grow
- DFS remains the market leader, with IKEA close behind
- The consumer
- Ownership of separate living rooms is over double that of dining rooms
-
- Figure 2: Type of living room, August 2019
- Consumers are expecting more from their living and dining rooms
-
- Figure 3: Use of living and dining space, August 2019
- Spending peaks among younger shoppers
-
- Figure 4: What they spent on living and dining room furniture, August 2019
- Living room, and sofas, dominate purchases
-
- Figure 5: Living and dining room furniture purchases, August 2019
- The growing need for flexibility
-
- Figure 6: Attitudes towards living and dining room furniture, August 2019
- Potential avenues for growth in the living and dining room market
-
- Figure 7: Interest in living and dining room furniture, August 2019
- What we think
Issues and Insights
-
- The need for multipurpose living spaces drives a growing expectation for furniture to do more
- The facts
- The implications
- Another administration underlines ongoing challenges in the marketplace for furniture retailers
- The facts
- The implications
- The opportunity for premium furniture services
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
-
- Market growth slows amid some uncertainty
- Growth forecast to slow as the UK navigates its exit from the EU
- Housing transactions cool, but remain historically high
- Consumer confidence remains resilient despite uncertainty
Market Size and Forecast
-
- Market growth slows amid some uncertainty
- Brexit headwinds set to subdue growth
-
- Figure 8: Consumer spending on living and dining room furniture, 2014-24
- Figure 9: Consumer spending on living and dining room furniture, 2014-24
- Market segmentation
-
- Figure 10: Consumer spending on living and dining room furniture, estimated breakdown by category, 2018
- Forecast methodology
Market Drivers
-
- Housing transactions cool for a second year…
-
- Figure 11: Number of residential housing transactions over £40,000, 2009-18
-
- Figure 12: Monthly change in the number of residential housing transactions over £40,000 compared to the previous year, January 2018-July 2019
- …but the number of households continues to rise
-
- Figure 13: Number of UK households, 2013-23
- Consumer confidence remains resilient despite uncertainty
-
- Figure 14: Consumer confidence in the state of finances and their finances compared to the previous year, January 2017-July 2019
-
- Figure 15: Spending on the home, actions and intentions, January 2017-August 2019
- Inflation returns to stability following 2017 spike
-
- Figure 16: Annual rate of inflation, 2007-18
-
- Figure 17: Inflation, July 2018-July 2019
- Nearly a fifth of households are now privately renting
-
- Figure 18: Housing stock in England, by tenure, 1998-2018
- Three quarters of consumers live in a house
-
- Figure 19: Type of dwelling lived in, August 2019
- Consumers appear confident of taking on credit
-
- Figure 20: Consumer credit excluding student loans, August 2017-July 2019
- Figure 21: Availability of consumer credit to households, Q1 2012-Q2 2019
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
-
- Specialist stores lead sales, two retailers fall into administration
- Online continues to grow its share
- DFS remains the market leader, with IKEA close behind
- Technological innovations changing the shape of furniture
- Advertising spend falls 1.6% in 2018
Channels of Distribution
-
- Specialist stores remain the largest channel, despite administrations
- Department stores slip up slightly amid high street challenges
- Online share creeps up
-
- Figure 22: Estimated channels of distribution for living and dining room furniture, 2018
Market Share
-
- DFS and IKEA consolidate at the top
- John Lewis and M&S lose share as high street footfall drops
- Online players appear on the horizon
-
- Figure 23: Estimated market shares of the living and dining room furniture market, 2018
Launch Activity and Innovation
-
- Harth reimagines furniture rental
-
- Figure 24: Harth range, September 2019
- 3D print it
-
- Figure 25: 3D printing, September 2019
- Sofa in a box
-
- Figure 26: Snug Shack ‘sofa in a box’, September 2019
- Chesterfield’s ‘Vegan’ Sofa
- Smart-tech living and dining room furniture
Manufacturer Profiles
-
- Devonshire Pine & Oak
-
- Figure 27: Devonshire Pine Limited financial performance, 2017 and 2018
- Ekornes
-
- Figure 28: Ekornes financial performance, 2016 and 2017
- Ercol Furniture Limited
-
- Figure 29: Ercol Furniture Limited financial performance, 2016 and 2017
- Furnico Furniture Limited
-
- Figure 30: Furnico Furniture Limited financial performance, 2017 and 2018
- JDP Furniture Group Limited
-
- Figure 31: JDP Furniture Group Limited financial performance, 2017 and 2018
- Sherborne Upholstery Limited
-
- Figure 32: Sherborne Upholstery Limited financial performance, 2017 and 2018
- 1869 Limited
-
- Figure 33: 1869 Limited financial performance, 2017 and 2018
- Westbridge Furniture Designs Limited
-
- Figure 34: Westbridge Furniture Designs Limited financial performance, 2016 and 2017
Advertising and Marketing Activity
-
- Advertising spend falls 1.6% in 2018
-
- Figure 35: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, 2014-18
- DFS continues to dominate spending
-
- Figure 36: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by retailer, 2018
- Adspend falls among leading retailers
-
- Figure 37: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by retailer, 2014-18
- Figure 38: Share of total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by retailer, 2014-18
- TV accounts for two thirds of expenditure…
-
- Figure 39: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by media type, 2018
- …having grown its hold in recent years
-
- Figure 40: Proportion of above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by media type, 2014-18
- Leading retailers adopt a number of different strategies
-
- Figure 41: Above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by media type and advertiser, 2018
- Campaign highlights
- Sofology chooses Owen Wilson to lead advertising charge
- Harveys partners with Louise Redknapp
- DFS celebrates 50th anniversary with Aardman Animations studio
- Swoon launches debut TV campaign
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
-
- Ownership of separate living rooms is over double that of dining rooms
- Consumers are expecting more from their living and dining rooms
- Spending peaks among younger shoppers
- Living room, and sofas, dominate purchases
- The growing need for flexibility
- Potential avenues for growth in the living and dining room market
Types of Living Space
-
- The majority still enjoy a separate living room…
-
- Figure 42: Type of living room, August 2019
- …but just over a quarter of consumers have a separate dining room
-
- Figure 43: Type of dining room, August 2019
- Homeowners enjoy more space
-
- Figure 44: Type of dining room, by dwelling type, August 2019
Use of Living Space
-
- Consumers are expecting more from their living and dining rooms
-
- Figure 45: Use of living and dining space, August 2019
- Changing needs for the living space driven by younger consumers
-
- Figure 46: Use of living and dining space, by age, August 2019
-
- Figure 47: Use of living and dining space, by age, August 2019
- The need for workspaces amid the rise of working from home
What They Spent
-
- More than half of consumers did not buy any furniture in the past year
-
- Figure 48: What they spent on living and dining room furniture, August 2019
- Spending peaks among 16-34 year olds, but 35-44s are central to large purchases
-
- Figure 49: What they spent, by age, August 2019
- New movers tend to focus more on essential, cheaper furniture
-
- Figure 50: What they spent, by duration in current home, August 2019
- Homeowners spearhead spending
-
- Figure 51: What they spent, by dwelling type, August 2019
Living and Dining Room Furniture Purchases
-
- The living room dominates recent purchases
-
- Figure 52: Living and dining room furniture purchases, August 2019
-
- Figure 53: Living and dining room furniture purchases, by duration in current home, August 2019
- Demand for dining room furniture varies according to space in the home
-
- Figure 54: Living and dining room furniture purchases, by dwelling type, August 2019
- Homeowners buy more furniture
-
- Figure 55: Living and dining room furniture purchases, by tenure, August 2019
- Over a third of shoppers purchased three or more items of furniture
-
- Figure 56: Living and dining room furniture purchases, repertoire, August 2019
Attitudes towards Living and Dining Room Furniture
-
- Comfort reigns supreme…
- …but its importance varies by age
-
- Figure 57: Attitudes towards living and dining room furniture, August 2019
- The appeal of flexibility greatest among flat owners
-
- Figure 58: Attitudes towards living and dining room furniture, by dwelling type, August 2019
- Priorities for furniture differ significantly with age
-
- Figure 59: Attitudes towards living and dining room furniture, by age, August 2019
- The need for stores is falling among younger shoppers
-
- Figure 60: Agreement with the statement "It's necessary to visit a store when purchasing premium items of living/dining room furniture (ie £500+)", by age, August 2019
Interest in Living and Dining Room Furniture
-
- Rapid development in visualisation technologies
- Consumers opening up to the idea of built-in technologies
- New movers seek design guidance
-
- Figure 61: Interest in living and dining room furniture, August 2019
- The growing opportunity for premium furniture rental services
-
- Figure 62: Interest in the statement "Living/dining room furniture that could be rented rather than bought outright", by household income, August 2019
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
-
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
-
- Forecast methodology
Back to top